Birch Tree Workshop

We had a brilliant time last Saturday painting the Birches..12 lovely ladies and 9 year old George!

First time for Charlotte and 9 year old George-- they came along with Sarah who has been quite a few times now--Charlotte is Sarah's sister and George is their nephew. Both did really well with the painting , and  George was also great help to me and Bill, taking out the brushes, kitchen towel etc and generally being a good boy! Lovely bright,vibrant colours from George, while Charlotte chose the soft sage green and cream---a lovely restful combination..They all had a lovely time and were very pleased with what they achieved in the workshop..

Chris and Pat have also been quite a few times before and have done different sizes and colours this time--- there is so much choice in this subject--there is something to suit everyone! Chris used silver paint on her trees, which catches the light beautifully but does not show up in the photos!

Pauline ,Annette and Cathy have all been before--wonderful results from them all...

Liz and Margaret have been once before but did oils last time...both loved the acrylics and used them well to create these monochrome paintings!

Teresa, Caroline and Caron with their beautiful results! First time for Caroline who couldn't believe how easy it was to do and has booked up to come and paint Serenity soon.. I love teaching this workshop--I can watch the confidence grow as we go through each small step..and the masterpiece happens before their very eyes...well done everyone and I will look forward to seeing you all again!

Feb 7th Workshop ''Poppies and Daisies''

We had a small workshop on Saturday so we used the small room at St Peters Church, lovely cosy room, just big enough to fit 6 students in ! We started off in this room 11 years ago..It was lovely to see Helen again!

It looks quite a simple subject matter but its amazing at how different the results can be! It can be quite hard to be random when painting the grasses, and at first Sarah thought hers were a bit to the same--she mixed a little Payne's grey with some of the greens and it made a huge difference! Sarah is coming on in leaps and bounds each time she comes..confidence grows every time..

Paul came along for the 3rd time with his sister Elaine..I loved his more formal arrangement of the grasses---it worked really well ..

Cathy was with us for the 4th time--having first met us while on a trip from London a few years ago! She made the trip from London to do her first painting but has since moved nearby so has been able to attend 3 more workshops since!

Elaine adding her daisies here...its quite a 'free' type of painting that works whatever flowers you decide to put in--students learned to do poppies,daisies and cornflowers..then we had fun doing dragonflies,snails and ladybirds!

When we were finished, everyone went into the church to have a quick look--to say it was cold in there was an understatement--so it was a very ,very quick look at the beautiful blue  dome ceiling and the stained  glass window !

Its a beautiful building!

Finished results--well done everyone!

First Workshop of 2015

Our first workshop of the year --12 lovely students -a mix of first timers and some who have been before...Sarah adding some colours to her painting..

Belinda was with us for the first time along with Clarissa and Sarah--

Clarissa and her friends really enjoyed their day..

Sarah adding her colour in oils--we under pant in acrylic first of all before using oils..

Roger and wife Sharon were given gift vouchers and really enjoyed their day...first time painting with me.

Sharon starting to add detail  now...

Sara and mum Margaret were attending their 7th painting workshop-and bought along Sara's 12 year old daughter Alice--who made a cracking job of her painting

You can see Alice's  masterpiece taking shape here.

Margaret about to add some colour..

3rd time for Chris...

Pat is coming back with Chris to pant Winter Wonderland,,

First time for Janet-- but shes coming  again to paint Stormy Poppies, she really enjoyed her day!

Wonderful vibrant paintings girls-- well done!

Lovely results--well done--

Lovely work...

Well done Sarah-beautiful painting.

amazing just how different the paintings turn out--all as individual as you are!

Beautiful-- well done!

Serenity Workshop Nov 22nd

Sorry about the delay in updating the blog--life has got in the way! Its been pretty hectic in one way and another-combined with me having a big flareup with my illness..pretty much back to normal now thanks goodness! We had a lovely time in the Serenity workshop in November...Cathy -above came from London the first time last year to paint with me--but has now moved quite near--She loves purple--so naturally chose the lovely dusky mauve as her colour!

Ruth has been once before with her Mum Beverly, they both chose to use shades of blue and purple for their painting--it worked really well...so well in fact that I did one myself in the same shades the following day on the market! It will be an option in future-along with the green,grey and dusky mauve.

Beverly making a start on her snowy path,,

Jerry was booked in as a pressie from his daughter who has been once before..he really enjoyed himself..

Carol used the lovely soft green for her painting--

Loved the grey version...Alison seemed to find it very easy!

Sheila was convinced that she wouldn't  be able paint anything worthwhile after being told at school that she wasn't artistic...she got quite emotional as the day went on and her beautiful painting progressed.. I feel so privileged to be able to give people the feeling of achievement that they get when they come to a workshop...

all hard at it!

Stacey adding the finishing touches

Hazel is a bit blurry--but the painting is just great!

The last bit of snow really adds a big difference..and the final touch of subtle glitter on the snow really makes a lovely touch..

Grrrrr too much sun on the paintings-- what a shame!

Beautiful results!

well done everyone!

Kinver Art Group

We met Pat and some of her fellow artists when we did Kinver Show back in the summer..we arranged at the show that we would go and do a demo for them..the day arrived yesterday--and what a great day we had---a laugh a minute with the members as I went through both paintings step  by step..above you can see them having a close look at The Waterfall.

A couple of members  had  tried oils years ago but most of them were used to using acrylics and watercolours-so it was a real eye-opener for them..everyone was pretty amazed at the results I got so quickly., and they promised they wouldn't go into the art shops and ask for 'bashing' and 'tickling'  brushes!!

The winners of the raffle were Trisha on the left who chose Summer Day--Trisha made the most beautiful cake for the coffee break-pear and blackberry sponge that was to die for--and some chocolate tarts--it would  have been rude not to try them..and Pam won The Waterfall painting.. all of the members were left wanting to have a go at oils-and we will look forward to meeting them in future workshops!

Class of Aug 9th "Stormy Skies"

I had 2 last minute cancellations at 11pm on Friday night because of illness..so I was down to 12 students for Saturdays workshop..and they came from far and wide again---Claire's sat nav bought her the long way from Birmingham--we are not quite sure where she came but it involved a lot of country lanes so she was going back via Kidderminster! First time painting for her--we will also see her at the end of the month to paint The Waterfall!

Christine came along with another of her granddaughters-Alex for the second time... Christine's hubby stayed to watch the proceedings too,,and showed me his great camera--I liked it so much I came home and ordered one for myself! Been promising myself a new one for a bit...

Alex made a beautiful job of her painting..

Ann enjoyed working with the oils and got a really dramatic sky going on very quickly!

Looking good!

We had a good mix of subtle skies and more dramatic ones....

Jackie was starting to wish she hadn't put in quite so many waves  when it came time to drag the wave out with a brush after!

First time for Jackie who was supposed to come in March with her daughter and group of friends--unfortunately she had a fall and broke her ankle and had to put off coming until yesterday...

her daughter Michelle who was also painting for the first time had a call to say her hubby had had an accident just before we started the class...and had been rushed to hospital with suspected broken ribs--so they dashed off as soon as we finished--will be in touch with her to see how he is..

Steve was with us for the 3rd time..he and wife Sylvia chose to do the 12in x 24in canvas..he did a dramatic bold version and Sylvia went more subtle!

Here is Sylvia adding the final details to her picture!

Beautiful results from everyone as usual..

Well done ladies x